Trial of W.Va. woman charged in son's death delayed until Sept.

August 17, 2009|By MATTHEW UMSTEAD

MARTINSBURG, W.Va. -- The trial of a woman charged in the death of her infant son in August 2008 was postponed Monday until Sept. 1, because her attorney is representing another person in a trial under way in Jefferson County.

Monica W. Boggs of 8791 Hedgesville Road, Hedgesville, W.Va., was indicted in February on charges of death of a child by a parent, guardian or custodian, child abuse resulting in serious bodily injury and gross child neglect creating substantial risk of bodily injury.

Boggs' attorney, B. Craig Manford, told 23rd Judicial Circuit Judge Gray Silver III on Monday that the trial in Jefferson County was lasting longer than expected and he hoped to get the case to the jury by the end of today.

"It just turned into a real monster of a case," said Manford, who apologized to the court for "causing the snag."

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Last week in a pretrial hearing, Silver denied Manford's motion that the trial be continued for unspecified medical reasons.

Manford's client in that hearing turned down a plea offer from Prosecuting Attorney Pamela Jean Games-Neely, who said she was willing to dismiss the gross child neglect charge in exchange for guilty pleas to the other two counts.

Boggs' son, Skylar Trigg Boggs, died Aug. 19, 2008, as a result of blunt-force trauma, police have said. The West Virginia Office of the Chief Medical Examiner determined that the 7-month-old boy had a deep bruise around his left eye, according to court records.

Police have said Boggs admitted throwing a bottle at the child on Aug. 16, 2008, at their home. Subsequent attempts to revive the child were unsuccessful.